Rio Tinto dodging its responsibilities for radioactive pollution of Kakadu National Park
Rio Tinto dismisses Ranger rehab funding concerns as “hypothetical” Mining Australia, 8 May, 2014 Rio Tinto has stated that concerns about the funding for rehabilitation of the Northern Territory Ranger mine site are hypothetical, and remain the concerns of the ERA board of directors.
CEO Sam Walsh once again shrugged off suggestions that Rio Tinto, as 68 per cent shareholder in ERA, is responsible as the parent company for any of ERAs financial shortcomings in regard to rehabilitation and clean-up at the Ranger uranium mine…….David Sweeney of the Australian Conservation Federation, in his question to Sam Walsh and the Rio Tinto board of executives, suggested that because ERA reports to RioTinto’s energy division, it will be “closely watched and long judged on its actions regarding ERA”……..
“I thought his response was very partial and legalistic,” Sweeney said.
“Clearly Energy Resources Australia is a separate legal entity to Rio Tinto, but Rio provides the mining instructions, they provide the management, the CEO of ERA is appointed by Rio and is always a Rio person, Rio’s energy division manages ERA.
“It is absolutely a Rio Tinto subsidiary, it is a Rio Tinto child, and it concerns us greatly now that, when it’s coming to the pointy end of what will be a costly and complex rehabilitation exercise, ERA is saying they don’t have the funding capacity and Rio Tinto is saying they don’t have the responsibility.
“Just this week, Rio bailed ERA out of a problem caused by the suspension of mineral processing, by saying that they will pool Australian and Namibian uranium through the Rio Tinto marketing authority.”……http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/breaking-rio-tinto-dismisses-ranger-rehab-funding
Unprofitable uranium projects, and other uncomfortable questions at Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting
Uranium mine leaks dominate Rio AGM RIO Tinto’s uranium operations are contributing nothing to its profits – but they dominated its annual general meeting. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/uranium-mine-leaks-dominate-rio-agm/story-fn3dxity-1226910566303 8 May 14, Anti-nuclear activists had plenty of ammunition after two toxic, radioactive spills in a week at its two uranium mines shortly before Christmas.
Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Dave Sweeney accused the board of shirking its responsibilities by refusing to guarantee that it would fund the rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine site.
The site is surrounded by the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, was shut down after December’s spill and is operated by Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), which Rio owns 68 per cent of.
“I would urge you to commit to Rio Tinto addressing its full financial and other responsibilities for its subsidiary,” Mr Sweeney said at the AGM in Melbourne.”You share common uranium marketing with ERA, you direct ERA and ERA reports to Rio Tinto’s energy division.”
Rio’s chief executive Sam Walsh told the AGM ERA was a public company controlled by an independent board that would decide how to rehabilitate the area.
As the major shareholder, Rio would play its part and he insisted there had been no overflows of leaked material into rivers.
The company was also presented with a letter from a community group representing people connected to Rio’s Rossing uranium mine in Namibia. It stated that higher than normal rates of cancers had been detected in past and present workers there going back to the 1970s and called for an epidemiological study.
Mr Walsh said he took the claims seriously and would order an independent review, but that there was no medical evidence of any issues.
Unions and workers from Rio’s Hunter Valley coal mines in NSW also accused the company of shoddy industrial practices and safety standards. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union vice president Wayne McAndrew said Rio was the worst industry offender for relying on casuals and contractors, which led to slipping safety standards. Mr Walsh said he cared deeply that three people were killed at Rio’s operations last year.
Why the Walinu Martu People will do everything possible to prevent Toro Energy’s Wiluna Uranium project
WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S WILUNA MARTU CONDEMN EXPANSION OF URANIUM MINING PROJECT , InterContinental Cry, by Curtis Kline on May 7, 2014 In Western Australia, plans of expanding Toro Energy’s mine site into a much larger uranium mining wasteland–spanning 100km and two lake systems–has been condemned by elders of the Wiluna Martu people.
“The lives of not only our people today are at stake but the future of our people into time immemorial. This uranium mining if it goes ahead will spell the end of us as custodians of the land. It will make toxic the land, preventing us from caring for the land, it will poison the rivers that we swim in, drink and fish from,” said Wiluna Elder, Glen Cooke to The Stringer.
On March 25, Western Australia’s EPA made the Toro Wiluna uranium expansion project open for public review. Wongi anti-nuclear campaigner, Kylie Fitzwater, commented that Toro had a long way to go before gaining new approvals to expand their single-mine approved project. “The company needs to complete additional environmental management, mine closure, tailings management and transport plans for assessment before any mining can commence at the Wiluna site,” she said.
Included in the proposal, Toro Energy wants to double its water consumption and store radioactive mine waste from several mine sites in a Lake bed. The company’s new plan also involves four more deposits covering over one hundred kilometers – Lake Way, Centipede, Millipede and Lake Maitland, with longer term plans including mining an additional three deposits at Nowthanna, Dawson Hinkler and Firestrike – covering another one hundred kilometers in the other direction.
Stop the bull – the Wiluna uranium program
This region is also home to Western Australia’s largest uranium deposit at Yeelirrie, owned by the Canadian uranium mining giant, CAMECO. This project has been consistently opposed for forty years by Traditional Owners, now led by Kado Muir. Mr. Muir has said “The only safe place for uranium is in the ground, where it belongs. For 40 years my people have campaigned to protect Yeelirrie. We have walked this Country for thousands of years, it should not become Country that we fear to tred.”
While Toro’s original mine plan is expected to be operational next year, the traditional lands on which it is situated is covered by two native title claims at an advanced stage towards a consent determination of native title under the Native Title Act………
As the majority of uranium exploration and mining occurs on Indigenous lands all over the world, this project would continue the denial of the Walinu Martu Peoples right of free, prior and informed consent and their self-determination. They have particularly been striving for the right to negotiate with uranium explorers directly to ensure that their culture and rights are adequately protected.
As the first of Western Australia’s mining projects, the government and industry are hoping this will be the first of many. This is why, the Walinu MArtu People will do everything possible to prevent it. http://intercontinentalcry.org/western-australias-wiluna-martu-condemn-expansion-of-uranium-mining-project-22980/
In Japan, Manga art is telling the facts on Fukushima and health
Japanese Manga Stirs Up Fukushima Nuclear Controversyhttp://kotaku.com/japanese-manga-stirs-up-fukushima-nuclear-controversy-1573381718 (Manga pictures on original article) 8 May 14 A famous Japanese food manga takes on the “truth about Fukushima.”
The Japanese manga, Oishinbo (美味しんぼ) is a long-running food manga that has been ongoing since 1983. In his latest chapter that was recently published in the magazine Big Comic Spirits, author Tetsu Kariya depicted the manga protagonist, Shiro Yamaoka, as he returned from a visit to the nuclear-disaster-suffering prefecture when he suddenly has a random nosebleed.After the incident, there is a discussion with another character who says that he, too, has suffered from such unexplained nosebleeds and fatigue, finishing with the comment, “There are a lot of people in Fukushima who suffer from the same symptoms. They just don’t talk about it.”
This depiction managed to stir up the hornet’s nest. According to Japanese news site Ebisoku, soon after the magazine hit the racks, the publisher, Shogakukan, was flooded with complaints and criticism that the manga was showing Fukushima in an exaggerated negative light. Continue reading
Dispelling the myth that nuclear power is “low carbon”
Nuclear Is NOT a Low-Carbon Source of Energy April 14, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog Why Do People Claim that Nuclear Power is a Low-Carbon Source of Energy?…. some scientists are under the mistaken impression that nuclear power is virtually carbon-free, and thus must be pushed to prevent runaway global warming. …But this is a myth.
Amory Lovins …… Nuclear plants are so slow and costly to build that they reduce and retard climate protection.
Here’s how. Each dollar spent on a new reactor buys about 2-10 times less carbon savings, 20-40 times slower, than spending that dollar on the cheaper, faster, safer solutions that make nuclear power unnecessary and uneconomic: efficient use of electricity, making heat and power together in factories or buildings (“cogeneration”), and renewable energy. The last two made 18% of the world’s 2009 electricity, nuclear 13%, reversing their 2000 shares–and made over 90% of the world’s additional electricity in 2008. Continue reading
USA scaling up wind energy projects
US Investing In A Wind Powered Future http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4296 9 May 14 While Treasurer Joe Hockey might think wind turbines at Capital Wind Farm are ‘utterly offensive‘ and a ‘blight on the landscape’, the USA is scaling up its wind power forays.
The US Department of Energy has announced the deployment of three new offshore wind facilities. The three projects, located in federal and state waters off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia will each receive $47 million in government assistance and will operate as test sites for the latest in innovative, grid-connected wind energy systems. The projects are part of the Obama Administration’s National Offshore Wind Strategy, which aims to develop a sustainable, profitable wind power industry through public-private partnerships.
“Offshore wind offers a large, untapped energy resource for the United States that can create thousands of manufacturing, construction and supply chain jobs across the country and drive billions of dollars in local economic investment,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The Energy Department is working with public and private partners to harness this untapped resource in a sustainable and economic manner.”
All three of the selected projects will use the latest in direct-drive (DD) wind turbine technology from different turbine manufacturers. Direct-drive turbines contain fewer moving parts than their standard-gear cousins and are therefore easier and cheaper to build and maintain. They are massive, with each turbine blade running the length of a football field.
Two of the projects; Fishermen’s Energy, approximately seven-kilometres off the coast of Atlantic City, NJ; and Dominion Virginia Power, around 60-km off the coast of Virginia Beach, are located in shallow water and will be anchored to the seabed using a newly patented “twisted jacket foundation”, where three “legs” are twisted around a central column.
According to the DoE. these structures are easier to install than traditional foundations, helping drive down the cost of energy from offshore wind.
In the deep waters of the U.S. West Coast – where more than 60-percent of America’s offshore wind resources are located – Oregon’s Principle Power will use the pioneering WindFloat semi-submersible floating foundation; designed to operate in waters over 300-metres in depth. More information on the three wind farm test beds can be viewed here.
64000 job losses in Victoria due to cuts in Renewable Energy Target?
Renewable energy cuts could cost 6400 jobs in Victoria The Age, May 9, 2014 Mark Hawthorne – Senior EditorA cut to the 20 per cent renewable energy target – currently under review – could cost Victoria 6400 jobs, including an estimated 750 jobs in Premier Denis Napthine’s seat alone.
According to data from the Clean Energy Council, 17 Victorian wind farm projects that have received state government approval are unlikely to go ahead if the target is cut by the Abbott government.
Major projects under threat include Origin Energy’s 392.5-megawatt wind farm at Stockyard Hill, WestWind Energy’s 321-megawatt project at Moorabool, near Geelong, and RES Australia’s 247.5-megawatt wind farm at Ararat.
The Clean Energy Council estimates those three wind farms alone would create 3071 jobs in Victoria, including 240 permanent positions.
Three other wind farms under threat are located in Dr Napthine’s seat of South West Coast.
Union Fenosa’s wind farms at Ryan Corner and Hawkesdale and a smaller 40-megawatt Wind Farm Developments project at Woolsthorpe would create about 750 jobs during the construction phase, and 58 permanent positions running and servicing the wind farms.
“Reducing or removing the policy would mean fewer opportunities for construction workers and contractors, as well as all the industries that support them,’’ said Clean Energy Council policy manager Darren Gladman……….
Such is the plight of the renewable energy industry, the country’s two biggest companies in the sector – Infigen Energy and Pacific Hydro – now invest more money overseas than within Australia.
The premier’s office did not comment by deadline. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/renewable-energy-cuts-could-cost-6400-jobs-in-victoria-20140508-zr70r.html#ixzz31Feupyy8
Australia’s radiation protection not good enough, especially in remote areas
Audit finds nuclear shortcomings PS News 8 May 14 An audit of the regulation of nuclear radiation and related activities in Australia has found that while the Agency responsible had been generally effective in managing key aspects of the regulatory framework, shortcomings identified in a 2005 audit had yet to be rectified.
In his audit report on the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), Auditor-General, Ian McPhee found that only 11 of the 19 recommendations made by the previous 2005 audit had been implemented.
The 2005 audit found ARPANSA “did not have a systematic approach to planning, undertaking and monitoring its activities”.
“By not implementing agreed recommendations in a timely manner, ARPANSA has foregone opportunities to enhance its performance,” the Auditor-General said……..Mr McPhee said the licence assessment process could be further improved and there was also scope for ARPANSA to extend its risk‑based regulatory approach.
The audit found that aspects of the inspection process, particularly unannounced inspections, were largely driven by geographical convenience rather than risk.
He also recommended ARPANSA strengthen its approach to managing conflicts of interest, assisted by its Audit and Risk Committee.
The audit team was Stewart Ashe, Tara Rutter and Donna Burton. http://www.psnews.com.au/Page_psn408f6.html
AUDIO: Australian government’s energy policy driven not by reality, but by ideology
AUDIO Australian Solar Council says ideology is driving energy policy http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/ideology-driving-energy-policy-australian-solar-council/5437898 8 May 14 The Australian solar industry has delivered a broadside to the Coalition government, saying ideology is now driving energy policy in Australia. John Grimes, the CEO of the Australian Solar Council, says the government is on the brink of breaking key promises on renewable energy, writes Alexia Attwood. The Australian Solar Council has warned the government is about to dump its one 
million solar roofs program, cut the Renewable Energy Target in half, scrap the last remaining federal subsidies for domestic solar panels and axe more than one billion dollars of funding for research into renewable power.
‘Because they have made an ideological choice it is then skewing all of the other decisions they’re making,’ John Grimes, CEO of the Australian Solar Council, told RN Breakfast.‘This is poor public policy and not in accordance with what the people of Australia want.’
Because they have made an ideological choice it is then skewing all of the other decisions they’re making. This is poor public policy and not in accordance with what the people of Australia want.
JOHN GRIMES, AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL CEO
The concerns for the future of both large- and small-scale solar power will dominate the 52nd annual Australian Solar Industry Conference and Exhibition, which opens today in Melbourne.
‘It is being supported at the highest levels of the government and this is a campaign to wind back support for renewable energy,’ said Mr Grimes. ‘We’ve engaged in good faith, we have provided good policy advice to governments over the years. We are completely non-partisan. We will support any party that has good solar policy.’…….
Mr Grimes said the government is set to cut $1.5 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and phase out the small scale renewable energy scheme, ending the last remaining federal subsidy for domestic solar installation.
‘We think support for the small scale scheme is finished and to soften the blow we expect they will make a concession towards small businesses, that they will phase this out for small businesses over time but close it completely for the general community,’ said Mr Grimes. ‘For a lot of people it will put going solar out of their reach.’
‘Scaling back, reducing, cutting subsidies for household solar is only the first step … You ain’t seen nothing yet.’
Giles Parkinson shows 10 conservative politicians lined up against renewable eneergy
Australia’s conservative politicians railing against renewables By Giles Parkinson on 7 May 2014 Support for Australia’s 20 per cent renewable energy target is supposed to be bipartisan – at least that is what the Coalition government led by Tony Abbott would have us believe.
Of course, it has been clear for several years now that this is a mirage. Australia’s conservative politicians – be they at a federal or state level – have long railed against renewable energy, usually along the myth-busted lines that they are too expensive, cannot be relied upon, and do nothing to reduce emissions.
In fact, as practical experience has shown in South Australia, with a near world-record 31 per cent of variable renewables in 2013, wind and solar can do the job, can lower the wholesale and retail price of electricity, and can lower emissions.
Other studies show that, despite the pleadings of the incumbent fossil fuel industry, the current RET of 41,000GWh by 2020 is not expensive. In fact, it is more likely to reduce the cost of electricity to consumers, apart from its happy outcomes of decarbonising the grid and forcing dirty and inefficient coal-fired generation out of the market.
More recently, the rhetoric against wind farms has moved from costs and efficiency to visual amenity, and an insistence that the health impacts are not settled. It seems now that the mere sight of them ruffles the hard right ideologues, and even some deemed more moderate. It is as though they cannot accept the utility of any technology that might form the centrepiece of Green policy making.
So perhaps it is time for the conservatives to admit that bipartisan support for renewable energy is a myth. Here’s a roll call of the leading players to act as a reminder………….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/australias-conservative-politicians-railing-against-renewables-36034
UK way ahead of Australia in large scale solar energy
UK Outshines Australia In Large Scale Solar http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4294 8 May 14 The UK renewables industry is now supporting 100,000 jobs and is set to be to be the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) market in Europe in 2014.
According to a recent report published by the Renewable Energy Association (REA); the UK’s renewable energy industry has attracted almost £30 billion of private sector investment since 2010; which enabled the industry to sustain over 100,000 jobs in 2013. Approximately 15,000 renewables jobs in the UK last year were in the solar sector.
While small scale solar in the UK has dropped off to a degree, commercial and large scale installations are powering ahead; which will boost solar employment again.
NPD SolarBuzz states more than 325 solar farms in the megawatt (MW) class would have been completed within the UK at the end of April, with more than 60 different installations having a capacity exceeding 10 MW.
NPD SolarBuzz says another 444 large-scale ground-mounted solar PV facilities are currently at various stages of planning in the UK and 124 have planning applications approval.
It’s a curious situation – RenewEconomy’s Giles Parkinson points out sun-drenched Australia has just one megawatt-scale ground mounted solar farm (Greenough River Solar Farm) and only a handful in development.
One of the issues holding back large scale solar in this country is uncertainty over the future of the Renewable Energy Target, which is currently under review.
Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes states the RET Review process is heading to a biased and predetermined outcome; which threatens billions of dollars investment and thousands of current and future jobs in the solar sector.
It’s not just large scale solar in the shadow of the grim reaper; residential solar also faces uncertainty. In a worst case scenario, if all subsidisation was removed it would add thousands of dollars onto the cost of an average solar panel system.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 